Jump Start Your 2016 Mobile Strategy with These Seven Tips

2016 is here, and it’s time to start strategizing. Sure, mobile isn’t going anywhere, but your consumers are constantly changing—growing with the emergent trends contingent on the smartphone’s newest features. Mobile ad budgets are at a record high, and smartphones are, too. If you’re outlining your 2016 marketing plan, don’t forget about these seven tips for an impactful, long-lasting mobile marketing platform.

Tip One: Prioritize Mobile over Desktop

While desktop marketing should still be utilized, mobile should be prioritized. In 2015, smartphone prioritization over desktop usage rose by 29 percent. Mobile, today, is the preferred business platform, and it should be your mainstream connectivity utility to ensure the next 365 days of success.

When strategizing, focus on drawing your consumers from desktop to mobile. Engage social media offshoots, and promote your SMS campaign when possible. Additionally, include in-store mobile-exclusive offers. A customer on mobile stays on mobile, and they’ll return as consistent brand impactors.

Tip Two: Create a Mobile App

Mobile apps have become the mobile marketer’s bread and butter—and for good reason. Currently, smartphone users spend approximately three hours daily on their devices. Of these three hours, 89 percent of operational time can be attributed to mobile app usage.

A company-hosted mobile app offers total subscriber control. It offers pay incentive, and it finalizes any ad expenditures to create potent retention strategies. Even if your company doesn’t intend on using advertisements, a strong revenue stream can be built from a mobile app addition.

In 2016, users will expect lightning-quick responses, emails guaranteed to please and user-friendly feedback. If you aren’t tracking important behavior, you’re missing out on custom delivery options. Custom options birthed from user-gathered information offers the right products and services at the right time. It also boosts conversions.

Tip Four: Offer Location-Based Services

Location-based services, too, are instrumental to 2016’s evolved mobile climate. Check out Wavemarket’s YouTube video discussing the future of such services, and take a look at the newest strategies proposed by the smartphone’s ever-changing user interface.

Area-specific offers create the dynamic environments customers love. Moreover, they create a sense of brand entitlement. In 2016, loyal brand-lovers will make the business world turn. They’ll boost efficiency while engaging mobile marketing platforms like never before.

Mobile video, too, has become indispensable. Right now, worldwide mobile users are absorbing smartphone media at a rapid rate. Mobile video accounts for 55 percent of mobile data usage, according to Cisco ’15 Mobile Forecast. Mobile video can’t be ignored, and Snapchat, Vine and Instagram are all short-form video providers you should be watching.

Millennial’s in particular, crave short-form video. Yet long-form video still offers great utility when accessed through Facebook and YouTube. Local video hosting, now, is the primary tool used by mobile marketers seeking cross-platform communication.

Tip Five: Implement Mobile Video

Mobile video, too, has become indispensable. Right now, worldwide mobile users are absorbing smartphone media at a rapid rate. Mobile video accounts for 55 percent of mobile data usage, according to Cisco ’15 Mobile Forecast. Mobile video can’t be ignored, and Snapchat, Vine and Instagram are all short-form video providers you should be watching.

Millennial’s in particular, crave short-form video. Yet long-form video still offers great utility when accessed through Facebook and YouTube. Local video hosting, now, is the primary tool used by mobile marketers seeking cross-platform communication.

Tip Six: Don’t Forget about SEO

SEO isn’t a “thing of the past,” and it’s still conducive to a healthy mobile marketing environment. Currently, 80 percent of Internet users rely on a mobile device to engage. Old-fashioned search might be changing, but it’s changing for the better.

Surprisingly, wearable technology is increasing the world of SEO. As search mobility increases further, marketers are faced with ever-expanding possibilities. Google’s new rules are penalizing non-mobile friendly websites, too, raising the bar to a “professionals only” height.

Tip Seven: Keep the Offers Simple

Mobile users love offers, but they love quick, resourceful and value-inducing offers. 47 percent of buyers admit to wanting mobile-accessible brand offers, and even more consider company promotions the “way of the future.” As mobile platforms evolve, customers will come to appreciate QR codes, SMS-based redemption offers and unique opportunities. Of course, location-based services are a large component.

Location-based offers, themselves, are but a piece of the mobile-based offers “pie,” however. Already, consumers are opting in for social media updates, webmail offers and brick-and-mortar rewards. The mobile industry is inseparable from the rest of the world, and it isn’t going anywhere. As you develop your 2016 mobile plan, remember to look back on 2015. It was quite a year.